Luther and Katharina - A Book Review

Jody Hedlund is one of my favorite authors.  Luther and Katharina has been another reminder of why I love this author!  It is historical romance at it's finest.  I love the way Mrs. Hedlund weaves true historic events into a fictional story.  Included in the back of the book is an "Author's Note" that shares a little more true to life history and how much of the book is based on true facts.

The book is about Martin Luther, the leader of the Catholic church reformation and Katharina von Bora.  Luther has been excommunicated from the Catholic church and his writings, which condemn a cloistered life and promote marriage as a good and godly thing, are deemed illegal for reading.  After Katharina and some of the nuns at Marinthron read Luther's letters they are convinced that they want a better life.  One that offer's love and marriage, so with Katharina leading them, a group of nuns escape.  Abbot Batazar is enraged and relentless in his search for the nuns.  They take refuge at Martin Luther's home.  Sparks fly between Luther and Katharina.  They are complete opposites and it seems like trouble is all around them.  Luther's life is being threatened and he doesn't want to risk anyone else's life.  Katharina longs for love and longs for Luther.  She is very strong willed and the two of them form a bond that sees them through the hardest of times.

Together, they alter the religious landscape forever.

This time period is not one that I normally choose to read about, but as I stated before, Jody Hedlund is one of my favorites and I could not pass up one of her novels.  I am so glad I didn't.  I really learned a lot about the history of the Catholic church and found it very interesting.  I would definitely recommend this book!

***This book was provided to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for my review.

A Heart's Promise - A Book Review

A Heart's Betrayal is book three in Colleen Coble's Journey of the Heart's Series.  There are six books in this series and since March a new book has been released every month.   This series is the first that Colleen Coble wrote.  These books have not been available for 10 years, but now fans of this author have the chance to read her first work.

The books are quick and easy reads.  The four that I have read so far have each been around 100 pages.  This makes it very convenient for busy days, but what I don't like about it is that you have to wait a month from one book to the next.  It drags out the story and I have been finding that annoying with the last couple books. 

Each book starts where the last one ended and A Heart's Betrayal took a little bit of a different turn.  Even though Sara and Rand are still prominent characters in this story, the main character in this Novella is Emmie Croftner.  In the past three books Emmie's brother Ben has wreaked havoc on Rand and Sara's life.  Emmie is the complete opposite of her brother and has such a sweet disposition.  The book starts with Emmie mourning the death of her husband.  After only being married a short time she never dreamed she would be a widow so suddenly, but she is even more surprised when she answers her door and there stands a woman and a child...the wife and son of her late husband.   Unbeknownst to her she was married to a bigamist.  Now she has no place to stay and is ashamed of her circumstances.  She decides to head for Fort Laramie, Wyoming to find her friend Sarah and start a new life.   Not long after she arrives she finds out she is pregnant.  The new start she was hoping for is now looking pretty bleak.

This book sparked new interest for me.  I was beginning to grow tired of this series, but with a new character and a new story line I am excited to read the last two books and see what the conclusion of this series will be!

***This book was provided to me by the publisher through the booklook blog review program in exchange for my honest review.

Not by Sight - A Book Review

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin is set during WWI and focuses on the roll women played during this time period.  Sorry to say, but that is about the only thing I enjoyed about this book.  I don't know why I struggled so much with it, but I just couldn't get engaged in the story.  It seemed very predictable and very "shallow".  I felt like I was drudging through and couldn't wait for it to be over.  I have read one other book from this author and I struggled with it as well.  I notice that so many are giving this book good reviews, so I'm not sure why, but it doesn't mesh with me.  I would say it must be my own personal preference in writing style and this author just doesn't meet the mark for me.   However, I wouldn't want to turn anyone away from reading this novel as I am sure that many of you would enjoy it.  If in doubt read some of the other reviews and you will see how many there are that have truly enjoyed it!  

You can find out more about the book and purchase it on Amazon by clicking HERE.

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:

With Britain caught up in WWI, Jack Benningham, heir to the Earl of Stonebrooke, has declared himself a conscientious objector. Instead, he secretly works for the Crown by tracking down German spies on British soil, his wild reputation and society status serving as a foolproof cover.

Blinded by patriotism and concern for her brother on the front lines, wealthy suffragette Grace Mabry will do whatever it takes to assist her country's cause. When she sneaks into a posh London masquerade ball to hand out white feathers of cowardice, she never imagines the chain of events she'll set off when she hands a feather to Jack. 

And neither of them could anticipate the extent of the danger and betrayal that follows them--or the faith they'll need to maintain hope.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A Florida girl and former bookseller, Kate Breslin migrated to the Pacific Northwest where she lives with her guitarist husband and a persnickety cat. Author of travel articles and award-winning poetry, Kate received Christian Retailing's 2015 Best Award for first time author, and her debut novel, For Such A Time, is a Christy award, RITA award, and Carol award finalist. Kate's second novel, Not By Sight, releases August, 2015. When she's not writing inspirational fiction, Kate enjoys reading or taking long walks in Washington's beautiful woodlands. She also likes traveling to new places, both within the U.S. and abroad, having toured Greece, Rome, and much of Western Europe. New destinations make for fresh story ideas. Please visit her at www.katebreslin.com.

***Thank you to Bethany House Publishing for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

Through Waters Deep - A Book Review

Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin is the First book in the Waves of Freedom series.  The story is set in 1941, right before WWII and it is full of history, romance and mystery.  This book really is the whole package!  It took me a couple chapters before I was fully engaged in the story, but once I got into it and started getting acquainted with the characters I was hooked!  

Before this novel I had not had the privilege of reading any of this author's work, but I really enjoyed her writing style and this is one series that I will be sure to follow through with!  The story had a fun and spunky feel to it and I really enjoyed the character of Mary.  

I love historical fiction and I am always impressed when an author takes a fictional story and combines it with true historical events.  I also loved the spiritual aspects of the story and how the author incorporated a love for God into the character's lives.  It seemed like this book had all the different things that I love in a novel all rolled up in one and what came out was perfection!

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:

It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. Back on shore, Boston Navy Yard secretary Mary Stirling does her work quietly and efficiently, happy to be out of the limelight. Yet, despite her reserved nature, she never could back down from a challenge. When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is found, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges--and dangers--await them.

Sarah Sundin takes readers to the tense months before the US entered WWII. Readers will encounter German U-boats and torpedoes, along with the explosive power of true love, in this hopeful and romantic story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the drama and romance of the World War II era. She is the author of the upcoming Waves of Freedom series (Through Waters Deep, August 2015), the Wings of the Nightingale series (With Every Letter, 2012, On Distant Shores, August 2013, and In Perfect Time, 2014), and the Wings of Glory series (A Distant Melody, A Memory Between Us, and Blue Skies Tomorrow). 

A mother of three, Sundin lives in northern California. She works on-call as a hospital pharmacist and teaches Sunday school and women's Bible studies. She belongs to American Christian Fiction Writers, Christian Authors Network, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. Her novella in Where Treetops Glisten is a finalist in the 2015 Carol Awards, and her novel On Distant Shores was a double finalist for the 2014 Golden Scroll Awards. In 2011 she received the Writer of the Year Award from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. Please visit Sarah's website at http://www.sarahsundin.com

***Thank you to Revell Publishing for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

An Amish Boy and A Mother's Prayer - A Book Review

An Amish Boy and A Mother's Prayers is the Biography of Glen Graber, the founder of Graber Post Buildings.

Glen Graber was raised in Daviess County, Indiana and is the oldest of nine children.  His family was excommunicated from the Old Order Amish church when Glen's father procrastinated in taking off the "air-filled" tires from his tractor.  They jumped from church to church as did many of the people in Daviess County when the rules of a church were to hard to live by.  Simon, Glen's father, was known for never having money and always borrowing money that he could not pay back.  Even though Simon seemed to always struggle with money, he taught his children to work hard and they knew that he loved them.   During the family's financial hardships Glen was watching and learning from his father's example and his mistakes.

Glen's mother was sick for a long time.  She had to spend a lot of time in bed.  She was eventually diagnosed with cancer, but by that time the end was near.  On her death bed she had one request:  That Glen would take care of the family.  She had one prayer:  that God would provide a business for Glen that would provide for the family so they would no longer have the financial hardships.

Glen took his mother's dying wishes very seriously and became determined to reverse the hardships of his childhood and provide a better life for his family.  He worked hard, trusted in the Lord and he succeeded.

I really enjoyed the story of the Graber family.  I found the book to be a very quick and easy read and it seemed such a personal story that it was more like sitting down with a good friend and chatting about the old days.   It is encouraging to see how a mother's prayers continues to bless a family even after she is gone.

If you would like to purchase An Amish Boy and a Mother's Prayer from Amazon you can do so by clicking HERE.

***Thank you to Aneko Press and BlogBooks4Life for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Drawing Fire - A Book Review

When Abby Hart was six years old her parents were murdered.  The case was unsolved and now that Abby is an adult her life revolves around this one moment in her life.  She feels like she cannot move on and forgive as long as the killer remains unpunished.  She wants justice served.  Abby works as a homicide detective and her most recent case is the murder of an elderly woman.  Luke Murphy is a private investigator that witnessed a suspect leaving the scene of the crime and as Luke and Abby begin to work together sparks fly between them.  

When Abby finds out that the elderly lady is the aunt of the governor she finally gets the chance to question him about the murder of her parents.  The governor was partners with Abby's parents and she has always felt that he knows more than he told the police.   Come to find out Luke has a personal connection to the murders as well.  His uncle was killed in the same fire and he wants answers the same as Abby.  

As Luke and Abby begin to dig deeper into this case that has long since been buried it seems that there is someone who wants to make sure the case remains cold and they will do whatever it takes to make sure it does!

This is the first book I have read by Janice Cantore and it won't be the last!  I have been reading more and more christian suspense novels lately and this is one of my favorites.  It keeps the reader involved with page turning suspense and plenty of action and a little romance thrown in as well!  There is no profanity or sexual content, but with the topic being murder I would recommend it for adults and use caution for younger audiences.  

This is the first book in the Cold Case Justice series and I can't wait till the next one comes out!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called "Cop and Christ", and another for the monthly magazine "Today's Christian Woman".

With retirement Janice began to write longer pieces and several novels were born. Janice is excited and honored to now be a part of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, was released February 1, 2012 and kicked off a brand new chapter in her writing career. In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads. Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired.

If you would like to purchase Drawing Fire from Amazon you can do so by clicking HERE.

***Thank you to Tyndale Publishing for providing me a copy of Drawing Fire in exchange for my honest review.